BibleCompass
7-Day Free Trial

Choose Your Plan to Get Started

Sign in and select a plan to unlock AI-powered Bible study. Start with a free account or try Premium free for 7 days.

or choose a plan

Free

Essential Bible reading tools

$0/month
Full 66-book KJV Bible reader
3 AI commentaries per day
3 Apologetics Q&A per day
13 curated apologetics topics
Basic Bible search
Bookmark verses
Verse of the Day
Unlimited AI commentary
Unlimited Apologetics Q&A
Save apologetics answers
Sermon Prep mode
Most Popular

Premium

Full AI-powered Bible study suite

$9.99/month

Free for 7 days, then $9.99/month

Everything in Free, plus:
Unlimited AI commentary
Unlimited Apologetics Q&A
Save apologetics answers
Sermon Prep mode
Compare Translations (KJV, ESV, NIV, NASB)
Verse highlighting (6 colors)
Reading Plans with streak tracking
Study Notes & journal
Verse sharing cards
Priority AI response times
7-day free trial
Secure payments via Stripe
Cancel anytime

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

BibleCompass
Sign in
/Chapter 38
38 / 52

Jeremiah

ESV

Chapter 38

1Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people: 2“Thus says the LORD: He who stays in this city shall die by sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall save his life and have it as a prize of war. 3Thus says the LORD: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” 4Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.” 6So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And in the cistern there was no water, but only mire, and Jeremiah sank in the mire. 7When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate— 8Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, 9“My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.” 10Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and pull Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies.” 11So Ebed-melech took men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. 12Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put these rags and worn-out clothes under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so. 13Then they drew Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. 14King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” 15Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” 16Then King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As the LORD lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life.” 17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18But if you will not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand.” 19King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be given into their hand and they abuse me.” 20Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the LORD in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. 21But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me: 22Behold, all the women remaining in the house of the king of Judah will be led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say, ‘Your trusted friends have deceived you and prevailed against you; now that your feet are sunk in the mire, they turn away from you.’ 23All your wives and your children will be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned with fire.” 24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you will not die. 25If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, or we will put you to death,’ 26then you shall say to them, ‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27All the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, for the conversation had not been overheard. 28And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken. So he was there when Jerusalem was taken.